Locked & Loaded (Ricochet 1)

“Ummmm,” Jesus. He couldn’t think with her half naked and within arms length, it was too damn distracting. Her pale thighs were smooth and toned. All he could imagine was having them wrapped around his waist. “I uh, I mean… shit. I was going to bring you to the store again. If… if you wanted, I mean.”

Damn, I sound like a complete and total idiot.

Quinn’s already flushed cheeks turned an even darker shade of crimson as he stammered in her doorway. Her eyes cast downward until she was staring at her own feet. Rick marveled over how long and thick her eyelashes were against her pale skin. Her lush pink mouth captivated him as she licked her lips nervously.

This was a bad idea. His dick had a mind of it’s own whenever he was around Quinn and it was beginning to throb inside his jeans. He hadn’t gotten off since the pathetically unsatisfying experience on Sunday night and jerking in the shower at work and his cock was taking notice.

“You came here just to see if I needed another ride?”

Once again, when Quinn’s shy but pleased gaze lifted to Rick’s face, it hit him like a punch to the gut. He’d seen his share of beautiful women, hell, he’d had his share of beautiful women. But nothing he’d seen in his twenty-eight years would ever compare to the absolute perfection of Quinn Wallace.

Mesmerized, Rick could only nod.

The small smile she rewarded him with made his discomfort totally worth it. Like another hit of an addict’s favorite drug, Rick would probably give anything to see her smile more often. Quinn always looked sad, weary. Giving her a little bit of happiness, if only for something as simple as grocery shopping, seemed like a fair trade for a constant, aching hard-on, the inability to enjoy his usual no strings sex, and never ending mental torture.

“Yeah, I came to see if you needed another ride. Is that alright with you, doll?”

Quinn’s gorgeous face relaxed, her smile becoming wider. There were those adorable crinkles around her eyes again. “Yes, it’s fine. Let me just throw on a shirt. Uh, come in and just… wait here.”

He was pleased that she finally stopped telling him not to call her doll. She was a doll, his doll. Rick watched her tight ass as she scurried off to what he assumed was her bedroom. He groaned at the thought of her and her ass anywhere near a bed. As surreptitiously as possible, he adjusted his painful hard on.

Get your shit together, Brennan.

Minutes later, Quinn emerged with a small pink shirt pulled over her sports bra. She was still wearing the tiny, cheek hugging shorts. As he followed her out of the apartment, her delectable back end swaying with each step, Rick wondered if he had lost his fucking mind.

Chapter 7

AFTER RICK UNEXPECTEDLY showed up at her place again on Saturday, Quinn found herself looking forward to seeing him at work on Monday, which was totally unlike her. The old her anyway, the one Travis broke. Rick was a lot of fun, he was easy to be around, and he said cute things that made her feel warm inside, like “doll” and “be good”. So what if he was a charmer, or enjoyed random sex? He wasn’t her boyfriend. She could be friends with him without caving to her desire to find out first hand what Rick was like in bed.

Resigned to the friend zone, where it was safe, Quinn was able to let herself be more comfortable around Rick. He gave her the confidence to be free again. She breezed through the front door of the gym, smiling the entire way to the break room.

“Quinn, you look good today.”

Sitting at the table was Xander Vega, one of the fighters that she found incredibly intimidating her first week at Sanctum.

Was that only three weeks ago?

Who was she kidding? She found all of the fighters intimidating. But after speaking with Xander several times since then, Quinn decided that he was a great guy. In fact, all of the guys at Sanctum were pretty awesome. Big and threatening looking, yes, but gentle and kind and respectful whenever they spoke to her. They really were a family here, looking out for each other all of the time. It felt good to be a part of that. She was almost okay with watching them train, as long as they were hitting equipment and not other people.

“Hi Xander. Thanks. I think I finally know what I’m doing around here. You’re probably just noticing the fact that I’m not walking around confused all the time.”

Quinn brewed a pot of coffee, pouring herself a cup when it was done. She quietly stirred in two sugars before taking a sip.

“Maybe,” Xander finally said. His sharp gaze focused on Quinn, scanning her up and down. She shifted uncomfortably, but knew that he wasn’t being pervy. He was trying to uncover the source of her giant smile.

“I’ll figure it out, Quinn. You can’t hide it from me.” He tapped his finger on the side of his nose as he studied her.

Quinn smirked at Xander, taking another sip of coffee. Her silence made him laugh. He pushed up from the table, crossing to the door in three large strides.

“You’re a trip, Quinn. I gotta go. I have a client in five minutes.”

“See ya, Xander.”

He waggled his fingers over his head without turning back.

Quinn leaned against the counter, thinking back to her weekend with Rick. He was a perfect gentleman on Saturday, taking her to the store, opening doors for her, helping her carry her groceries up to the apartment. Well, a perfect gentleman if you don’t count the few times she caught him staring at her ass and the fact that he flirted like he was training for an Olympic event.

Then there was the fact that she could make Rick blush. It was astounding. Rick… the huge, intimidating, badass former Marine and fighter actually blushed when he realized he’d been busted eye-fucking her.